The Path to the League, Year 1
by ddxgrsd
Summary: Dave and Jennifer are two rookie trainers starting out on their Pokemon journey. Drew continues to hold the title as the second best trainer in Kanto. Can these three help each other achieve their goal of becoming League Champions?
1. December 30 - Prologue

A/N: I do not own Pokemon, not even a Jay-Zian share of it. Please leave all comments regarding that I am a horrible writer and I should find a way to publicly off myself as soon as possible in the comments section, and I will try to answer any questions in PM if you have any. This chapter is very short because it's my vision of a prologue. Enjoy!

-D

December 30th - Prologue

Two creatures were fighting on the TV screen to prove that their master was the better of the other. One, shaped like a large, round boulder with arms and legs was obviously struggling with the other, a behemoth of a thing, orange with disproportionately small wings. "Dragonite, use Dragon Rage to finish it off!" The giant orange thing's master commanded. With no hesitation, the Dragonite sucked in air and breathed out a massive blue flame. This attack took the boulder creature down as it gave one last sigh before collapsing. "Golem can no longer battle! Drew is out of Pokémon, so Lance is the victor of this year's Pokémon championship! He is one year away from tying the record of longest tenure as the Kanto league champion! This is another step in history in the making, ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer screamed, clearly going hoarse midway through his speech.

"Well, that finale was pretty boring," a teenage girl sighed.

"You'll have your chance next year if you don't let boys get in your way!" an older man chuckled.

"Dad! That's not nice!"

"Whoever said I needed to be nice?"

"I did! I think...once..."

"Exactly my point."

"Well...I should go to bed, you are kicking me out of the house tomorrow if I remember correctly."

"Yep! About time too! I can finally have the house to myself again!"

"Goodnight Dad..."

"Goodnight Jennifer."

And the teenage girl walked to her room, looking at herself through her mirror, examining her long, brown hair, then her jade green eyes, then her small frame. Starting the path of a travelling trainer at age 14 was a little old maybe, but who was to say? And then there was that new guy who was also starting out..._what was his name again? _ Jennifer turned away from the mirror, and neatly tucked herself in to her bed.

* * *

"Do you have enough underwear? Deodorant? Toothbrush and toothpaste? Snacks? Water? How about something to re-" a middle-aged woman questioned, for the 395th time that day.

"For the last time Mom, I have everything ready!" a teenage boy wasn't sure what he was looking forward more to tomorrow: the start of his journey as a Pokémon trainer or leaving his mom's constant nagging.

"I'm just making sure, I know you and your forgetfulness."

"I have everything I need packed, including underwear."

"Well, you should get to bed, your big day's tomorrow!"

"I suppose, goodnight Mom."

"Goodnight Dave."

And the teenage boy walked to his room. He may be 14, but he felt the giddiness of an 8-year-old on Christmas Eve tonight. He plopped himself on his bed and fell asleep, not caring to put himself under the covers.


	2. December 31 - Chapter 1

A/N: I do not own Pokemon, and you likely do not as well.

December 31 - Chapter 1

"Peekoo, peekoo, peekoo," rang the Pidgey alarm clock, "peekoo, peekoo, peekoo."

Dave slammed his hand on the top of the artificial bird Pokemon's head, quieting it.

Five minutes later..."Peekoo, peekoo," the alarm clock rang, "peekoo, peekoo." The boy sighed, trying to remember why he set the thing to ring so early. Then the backpack hit him.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to hit your head," Elena was always an early riser, especially since moving to Pallet Town a week ago. She wanted Dave to start his journey in their homeland of Unova, but Team Plasma's doings have scared away many Trainers, including the single mother and her son, "so, today's the day. I know you're excited, Dave, just remember it will be a long journey, and did you pack toothpaste?"

"Yes mother," Dave sighed, this would be a good day once he was out on the trail with the Charmander he was going to pick as his starter, but until then...he shrugged and put on a light jacket and jeans, then spent five minutes trying to find his red and yellow hat, only to realize it was on his head the entire time. "I'm ready, now, let's get there so I can have first pick out of the starters!"

"I think there's only one other person that's starting out this year, so I think your Charmander will still be there."

* * *

**STOMP, STOMP, STOMP**, instead using an alarm clock, Charles often used his Kangaskhan to wake his daughter, **STOMP, STOMP, STOMP.**

"I'm awake, I'm awake!" Jennifer yelled, then muttering "it's a wonder this house is still in one piece..."

"Finally! Freedom has come for me! I can run around the house in my underwear and no one will say a thing!"

"Please, Dad, I don't want that image stuck in my head, ever."

"Oh, you know you'll miss my awesomeness, but hey, today's your day, or something. Professor Oak is already up and at his lab, so we can go skeedaddle over there when you're ready."

"Uhh...five minutes, Dad, I know you're eager to have the house to yourself and all, but I just waked up!"

"Waked is not a word, Jenifer," and Charles chuckled and left.

Jenifer sighed and put on a plain T-shirt and jeans, brushed her hair for the first time in what seemed like months, and-

"Hey! Your five minutes are up!"

"Five minutes in a girl's world and five minutes in the real world are not the same thing!" _20 minutes later... _"Okay, I'm ready!"

"Finally! I could have walked to Mordor and back by now."

"Where's that?"

"Nevermind...let's go."

* * *

The sun was just rising as Dave and Elena arrived in front of Professor Oak's laboratory, "I wonder if we are the first ones here." Dave pondered out loud. His thoughts were answered as he and his mother entered, seeing a girl receive a Pokéball from an older man wearing a white lab coat, presumably Professor Oak. Another man standing behind the girl, presumably her father, looked almost more gleeful for his daughter receiving her first Pokémon.

"Looks like you will only have two choices now, hmm...what shall you choose..."

"You know what I will choose, Mom, should we go and meet them?"

Elena nodded, and the two walked over to the group of three, now hovering around a computer.

"...And now you are registered, Jenifer Naab, in the International Trainer Database, any Pokémon you catch with a Pokéball registered to your name will also be registered in the ITD," the professor explained.

"Thank you, Professor Oak! Where should I start?"

"Well, there's Viridian City just to the north of here, there's a gym there I believe if you're planning on entering the Pokémon league."

"That sounds like a good idea to me," the other man said, "well Jenifer, even if I'm excited to have the house to myself, I think I'll miss you. Be safe, and be sure to call once in a while!"

"I will, Dad," the girl replied, "and please, for my sake...be a normal sometimes!" The girl's father laughed, then gave her a light hug. She then looked up and noticed Dave and his mother awkwardly standing there, "oh, hey there other new trainer, what's your name?"

"Dave Gand, other new trainer, what is yours?" He shortly proceeded to slap himself in the face remembering that he just heard her name.

"The other new trainer, you other new trainer! Well, anyways, I want to go find what this Pokémon training thing is like, see you around." And she left before anyone else could say a word.

"Well then," the professor started, "you are here to start your journey as a trainer as well?"

"Yes, sir," Dave replied.

"Well, as you know, this is a world of Pokémon..." and Professor Oak droned on through his introductory speech for some time, both Elena and Dave struggling to stay awake through it. "...So Dave, your two choices are Squirtle and Bulbasaur as your starter, which one would you like?" The boy took a triple take, Charmander was not one of the two Pokémon the professor listed, _so that must mean...I'll just counter her Charmander then! _

"I choose...Squirtle!" Dave suddenly announced.

"Very well, here you go," the professor handed the boy a Pokéball, "you are now officially a trainer."

"Now I have to know, why Squirtle over Bulbasaur" Elena asked.

"Well, if I can't have Charmander, then I can counter the trainer who picked it!"

"Ah, that seems reasonable. Well, I guess you are going to Viridian City as well?"

"Yeah, nowhere else to go for now."

"That reminds me! Dave, can you do a favor for me and give Jenifer something when you catch up with her?" Professor Oak started fumbling around his desk.

"Sure, what is it?" Dave replied.

After some more time looking around his cluttered desk, the professor found two bright red devices, "These are Pokédexes, they are Pokémon encyclopedias. They will help the two of you in your journeys."

"Okay, find the other new trainer girl and give her a Pokédex, got it. Well, I should get going before it gets dark outside."

"Okay, be careful, son, and remember to-"

"I know, Mom, I will."

* * *

Route 1 was a set of small cliffs creating a zigzag path in between Pallet Town and Viridian City. The "staircase" of cliffs gave a cool breeze along its path. Thanks to the temperate climate of most of Kanto, it was warm outside even though it is Winter. Jennifer looked around the familiar sights of the route; she often would go with her father to Viridian City for shopping trips. She sat down next to a tree, releasing her next Pokémon from its Pokéball. The small, red lizard-like creature with a small flame at the tip of its tail appeared. "Hi there, Jennifer!" It suddenly yelped.

The trainer took a double take at her Pokémon, "I can understand you?"

"Well, for most Pokémon, it takes some time to bond with their trainer before they can understand each other, but because I'm your starter, I can understand you right away!" The little lizard replied.

"I guess that makes sense, you can keep me in line that way." The trainer let out a small smile, "speaking of, maybe I should give you a nickname, do you have one that you want?"

The Charmander did a little spin with his tail, "hmm, I can't think of any."

After some "hmm's," the trainer suddenly sprung up and said, "I know! How about Fuego?"

"That sounds good!" The newly named Fuego jumped up and down.

The sun was barely visible now, "It's getting dark fast, do you think we should just set up a camp here?"

"Either here or under any other tree is fine, just remember to put me in a Pokéball, I don't like sleeping outside!" Fuego replied.

"Okay, will do, little Fuego!" The girl let out a giggle.

* * *

Dave had set out on his journey through the winding Route 1 when he decided to release his Pokémon. The small, blue turtle let out a small yelp of joy. "Outside at last! You know, professor guy, you shou- Huh? you're not the professor. That means..."

The boy trainer wasn't sure what startled him more, the rant his Pokémon just gave, or that he could understand the rant his Pokémon just gave. "Uhhh..."

"YAY! I GOT SELECTED!" The Squirtle jumped up and hugged Dave's leg.

"I uhh...can understand you? I didn't think that was supposed to happen until we grew close."

"For most Pokémon maybe, but I'm your starter, you can understand me immediately, silly!"

"Hey, look, it's an obviously placed generic rodent looking Pokémon, I wonder what it is?" Dave took out his Pokédex and pointed it toward the purple rat thing.

The small machine came to life and blurted, "Rattata, this Pokémon will chew on anything with its fangs. If you see one, it's certain that 40 more live in that area."

"That's...unsettling, wanna battle it, master...whoever you are?" The blue turtle asked.

"Fine, start with a tackle attack!" And Squirtle ran toward the poor unsuspecting rodent unnoticed, slamming it with full force. The blow sent the poor Rattata flying away to faraway tree. "Well, that was easy."

"Squirtle does what Squirtle does!" The blue turtle then gave an evil cackle as it returned to its trainer's side.

* * *

Jennifer heard a loud smack nearby, then a random purple rodent came flying into the tree that she planned to sleep under.

"That was...random," Fuego noted.

"Yeah...don't see flying mice landing into trees every day." Jennifer shrugged.

"Those are Rattatas, trainer girl, didn't you get a Pokédex when you got me?"

"A Poke-what?"

"It's a thingy that tells you about us Pokémon, or something like that, I think."

"Hm...no, I didn't get one of those, maybe I'm supposed to buy it somewhere?"

"No...That weird professor guy hands them out to all the new trainers every year."

"Huh...weird, maybe he forgot. How do you know all of this?"

"That Bulbasaur was a know-it-all I tell you, he always flexed his knowledge around Squirtle and I when we were younger."

The sun had completely set by then, and darkness was quickly shrouding the staircase of cliffs, "good thing I got you instead of a know-it-all-asaur! But I am going to bed, so I'm going to put you back in your Pokéball, goodnight Fuego."

"Goodnight trainer lady." And Fuego was encased in a red light and disappeared into the red and white ball.

* * *

"It got really dark really quick," Squirtle noted.

"Yeah, let's set up camp and go to bed, we should be able to get to Viridian City tomorrow."

"Squirtle need no Pokéball to sleep in, Squirtle use shell for sleepsleep time!" The blue turtle then withdrew into its shell.

"You are one derpy Pokémon Squirtle..."


	3. January 1 - Chapter 2

A/N: Pokémon is something that I do not own. I do own the characters that I created though.

January 1 - Chapter 2

The sun, more than anything, woke Jennifer up. She accidentally forgot to face away from the east when rolling out her sleeping bag the night before, and she paid for it by waking up early. The cool breeze from yesterday disappeared overnight, leaving the steppes silent. _Eerily silent._ She got up and released Fuego from its Pokéball.

The Charmander tried to rub its eyes, but realized its arms were a bit too short, "Char...what time is it trainer girl?"

"Too early for me, I know that."

"Sleep...more?"

"That sounds like a good idea...renight, Fuego."

"renight?"

"Nevermind..." Jennifer then returned her Pokémon to its "home," and hunched down against the tree trunk, this time facing away from the morning sun.

* * *

A few hours later, Dave woke up to his Squirtle jumping up and down and otherwise being hyperactive. "Urrrgh, it's too early..."

"The sun's almost all the way up lazyhead! You need to get up if you wanna get to that City thing you were talking about yesterday!" The hyperactive turtle exclaimed.

"Fine, fine...hyperactive turtles and their backwards logic...or something." Dave got up and searched through his backpack for clothes when..."Oh...mother would kill me if she found out..." he forgot to pack underwear.

* * *

The girl and her Charmander were still sleeping under the very same tree, but the Rattata from last night was stirring awake above in the branches. Luckily, fell in a corner of some of the larger, more stable, branches near the trunk. Unluckily, it was near the top of the tree with a long fall if it were to slip on its climb down. Also unluckily, most Rattata are not known for their tree climbing abilities, with this one being no exception. And lastly, this particular rodent was afraid of heights, so it mostly sat in terror for some time when...

* * *

"Hey, that looks a person sitting next to that tree over there, do you think they're a trainer? You should make me battle their Pokémon!" The still giddy Squirtle noted. It mostly skipped along its half-asleep trainer.

"How does one small Squirtle have so much energy, it blows the mind, it does..." Dave mumbled. Upon walking closer to the person though, he recognized two things: this person was that Jennifer girl who took his Charmander, and she was still asleep. "Wait...let me think of something..."

* * *

The first thing the girl heard was "SQUIIIIIIIIIRTLLLLLLEEE!" Followed by a large smack of something hard against a tree, before she was half conscious, a Rattata fell from the sky on her lap.

"EEEEEK! It's a Rat! What if it has the Pokérus or something?!" Jennifer quickly scooted up against the tree, not caring that this action sent the poor, tortured rodent Pokémon flying away from her. Equally terrified, it scurried off into the distance.

A boy...wait, the other boy who started his Pokémon journey yesterday came rushing towards her. _Moltres, what was his name again?_

He finally caught up, then bent over to catch his breath, "sorry...huff...about...huff...Squirtle...huff...o ver...huff..."

"It's okay, your Squirtle saved me from being eaten from a flying Rattata."

He stood back up, "Ah, well that's good, Squirtle here is a little...full of energy this morning. Speaking of, after you get up and whatnot, do you want to battle our Pokémon, see who has the leg up on the other?"

"Fine by me," Jennifer replied, "prepare to lose though."

"Ah, but I have the type advantage over you."

"And our Pokémon only know tackle and scratch attacks, so they don't matter."

"Squirtle squirtle squirtle squirtle!" Dave fell over laughing, over what, was Jennifer's guess.

* * *

"Alright, one against one, if you already caught another Pokémon, we go until one of our Pokémon cannot battle any more," Dave announced.

"Deal, go Fuego!" She commanded as she threw a Pokéball towards the ground, releasing her Charmander.

"Charrr...Char?" The lizard looked like it just woke up from a nap.

"Go Squirtle! You can do it!" Dave looked upon his blue companion.

"We'll get this lizard, master trainer guy! I really need to learn your name one day..."

"It's Dave, and let's start things with a tackle attack!"

"Fuego, try to sidestep Squirtle's attack and use scratch!" Jennifer commanded.

Squirtle charged toward Fuego, who somehow groggily stepped out-of-the-way of the blue turtle. It then tried to scratch its adversary, unfortunately going for the shell, which was harder than its claws.

"Hmm...Fuego, just point your arms toward Squirtle at all times!" The groggy Charmander nodded, and lazily lifted its stubby arms toward its opponent.

Dave started laughing, "What is that going to do? Tickle my Squirtle? Do another tackle attack!"

"For Squirtletopia!" His Pokémon yelled as it blindly charged toward the...sharp claws at the ends of those stubby Charmander arms. Squirtle jumped backwards and fell backwards onto its shell. "I've been foiled! It's the trainer guy's fault for being a newbie trainer!"

Jennifer let out a satisfied "hmph," and said, "looks like your Squirtle can no longer move, or battle, so I won!"

"Fine, you won, but I'm getting you next time!" Dave helped his Pokémon back to its feet, and stood up. "Good battle there, oh, and Professor Oak wanted me to give you this Pokédex, he said he forgot to give you one."

"So it was his mistake, my little Fuego told me all the new trainers were supposed to get one of those Pokédex thingys." The girl picked up her Pokémon, letting it rest in her arms.

Dave fumbled through his backpack as he asked, "hey, if you're headed towards Viridian City as well, want to join up with me?"

Jennifer looked up at him, "Hmm...you don't look like a serial killer, so I don't seem the harm in it," He found the other Pokédex and he pulled it out so quickly that he almost lost grip of it, "and it looks like you're more of a risk to yourself than anyone else."

"That's great! Errr...here's your Pokédex, or my Pokédex, I don't think it matters though."

"Thanks," she placed her Pokémon down on the ground, and gently took the shiny red device from the boy's hand, "so you're new to Kanto, aren't you?"

"Yeah, my mom and I moved here last week, have you lived here a long time?"

"Lived in Pallet Town all of my life, I'm still not sure whether that's a good or bad thing."

"Well, you got to know everyone in your town that way."

"Kind of, my dad and I were always a little separated from everyone else except for our crazy old neighbor."

"Let me guess..."

"The Professor of Pokémon, He Who Gives Blatantly Long Speeches on Common Sense, et cetera, et cetera."

"That explains a lot."

"That's not nice!"

"I'm not a nice person, but we should get going if we want to get to Viridian City before dark."

"Fiiine...Fuego, can you nap in your Pokéball for a while?"

"Chaaarrr..." The sleepy Pokémon replied.

* * *

The poor, clumsy, afraid of heights Rattata was staring at another one of its fears, bird Pokémon. This particular one stared at it from atop a stump, pondering the nutritional value of the rodent Pokémon. This was enough to scare the Rattata into running further up the steppes along the cliff side, closing toward...

"Golem! We need to work on your earthquake attack some more, are you up for it?" A nearby trainer asked of his Pokémon.

"Gooolem!" The round boulder with arms and legs replied. It grabbed on the ground and started...shaking it...somehow. The poor Rattata got caught in the miniature earthquake, causing it to lose its balance and fall off the cliff when...

* * *

"EEEEEK! Another flying Rattata landed on me!" The girl trainer yelped, running away from the unfortunate rodent.

Dave just stood there, dumbfounded that such a thing could happen not once, but twice in the same day, then he felt the ground shaking, "whoa! What's going on now?"

The tremors were just enough to cause Jennifer to lose her footing and fall flat on her face, falling just before a tree stump.

Seeing this, Dave ran, or more like speed walked, over to her to help her up, "are you alright?"

"Could've hurt worse, thanks." The tremors finally stopped.

"I wonder what caused that though..." The Rattata scurried past the two, toward the top of the steppes.

"I don't know, Kanto doesn't get many earthquakes. But hey, I recognize this stump, we're close to Viridian City."

"Cool, it will be my first time coming to a city in Kanto," the two started walking up the trail

"Oh, trust me, the 'City' part in Viridian City is misleading, it's a pretty small town with not much to do outside of the Gym."

"Well, if there's a Gym, there's a badge to get, and a step closer to me becoming league champion!"

"And I'm still one step ahead of you!"

"One battle on our second day as trainers! It'll be different when it matters."

"You can believe whatever you want, I'll be holding that trophy at the end of the year."

"Only if you can beat me!"

"I just did!"

Dave stopped, they were on top of the hill that overlooked Viridian City. Jennifer was right, the "city" composed of about 10 buildings. There was one that obviously looked like a Pokécenter, another a store, several houses, and a mammoth, more in width than heighth, building that was probably the Gym. There was a small pond to the edge closer to them, where Dave could see a fisherman lazing away in the waning sun. "I guess you were right about Viridian City."

Jennifer merely nodded, and led him down to the Pokécenter.

"Wow, these rooms are so small!" Jennifer complained.

"Yeah, at least we have our own. It would be cramped with roommates." Dave added.

"Well, maybe I'll get used to it, not sure about you, you look like the non conformy type, or something."

"I'm pretty sure you made up at least three words there."

"I probably did."

"Alright, I'll take that as a notice that you need sleepy times, goodnight, new trainer girl."

"I have a name, new trainer boy!"

"So do I," and Dave left to his equally cramped room.


End file.
